Catalonia - Art and Culture 2018

celled: the poet Ausiàs March or the novelist Joanot Martorell (au- thor of Tirant lo Blanc , which Cer- vantes considered yo be a great book of chivalry). Social tension grew, especially in the countryside, where people were living under extreme conditions. From an artistic perspective, this was in the middle of the Gothic period. And every- thing results, in 1469, in the union between the Catalan-Aragonese Crown and the King- dom of Castile, with the marriage between Fernando II of Aragon and Isabel I of Castile. They came to be known as the Catholic Kings, the Maecenas of Christopher Colum- bus’s expedition to America. This was the great time for trade in the Mediterranean, as well as cultural exchange with other lands. In 1640, tthe Reapers’ War took place be- tween Catalonia and the Spanish Monarch Phillip IV. In 1659, as a consequence of the Treaty of the Pyrenees between Spain and France, Catalonia lost the territories north of the Pyrenees, (under French jurisdiction ever since). When Phillip V came to the throne, Catalonia was stripped of all of its privileges. This is the time of the siege of Barcelona, the destruction of part of the Born district, and the construction of the Ciutadella military complex. Despite these circumstances, Catalonia experienced an increase in its commercial activity.

In the 18th century, Europe experi- enced a demand for national and cultural identity. Catalonia did not stay out of this conflict. This roman- tic spirit influenced the recove-ry of the Romanesque and Gothic her- itage. One piece of poetry from this period stands out: Oda a la Pàtria (1833), by Bonaventura Carles Aribau, is considered an exaltation of the Catalan lan- guage and the beginning of the Catalan Renaixença after centuries of darkness. 19th-century Catalonia was modernised at the rate of the Industrial Revolution. The bourgeoisie became more powerful and suggested a change of social model that went against the rural model of the previous centuries. At the same time, a workers’ movement was founded which called for the rights of the factory workers, the other new social class which came hand-in-hand with industrial growth. The 20th century brought with it the tur- moil of the First World War (1914-1918) on a global scale, and the military dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923-1930). The Second Republic (1931-1936) created the expecta- tion that democracy would take place, but this was truncated by the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The Catalan language benefited from a process of the standardisation lead by a very important figure: Pompeu Fabra, considered

© imagen m.a.s.

SKYLIGHT of the palau de la música catalana, A great work of modernismE.

© jordi pareto

the father of standardisation of modern Cata- lan. During this time, Catalan culture also experienced particularly sweet moments, such as the architectural ‘Modernisme’ of Antoni Gaudí, Josep Puig i Cadafalch and Lluís Doménech i Montaner, the literary period known as ‘Noucentisme’ with Josep Carner or Eugeni d’Ors, or the avant-garde paintings with Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí. For Catalonia, General Franco’s dictator- ship (1939-1975) was particularly repressive on its distinct cultural traits. In any case, thanks to the untiring work of many anony- mous individuals and public figures, the

flame of Catalan culture was never extin- guished, as the people continued to stoke it in secret. The writers Mercè Rodoreda and Josep Pla, the musician Pau Casals, the edi- tor and novelist Joan Sales, the poet Salva- dor Espriu are some examples of this culture in the shadows. After the death of Franco (1975), Catalonia started to recover institutions and public cul- tural life. Publishing and media revived: TV3 in 1983 and the newspaper Avui in 1976. The literature, language, and design crossed borders and musical and theatrical events of international renown were established.

Woman in the night (1973), by joan miró.

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The Time of the Doves Publication of the novel by Mercè Rodoreda, which has been translated into more than 30 languages.

Sónar Festival First edition of the leading festival of advanced music, now repeated in different countries.

General dictionary Pompeu Fabra publishes the first standard dictionary for the Catalan language.

Publicity The painter Ramón Casas wins the contest to illustrate the Codorniu sign. These are the beginnings of design.

Sagrada Familia The first stone is laid of what will become the emblem of Antoni Gaudí’s work.

Demolition of the Born district Work begins on the construc- tion of the Ciutadella fortress. Today the remains can be seen at the Born Centre Cultural.

© GZ

© GZ

© GZ

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